Firefighters found part of the alms box on the floor "five or six feet from the wall," Fistler said. Investigators said they did not know if it contained any money.

Fistler said the fire was reported at 11:54 p.m. Monday and firefighters doused it in a little more than half an hour. He said it spread from the chair up the wall and across the ceiling of the wood-paneled room.

Fistler estimated the loss from heat, flames and smoke at between $10,000 and $25,000.

William Smereczynski of Williams Township, a member of the congregation, said services probably will be held in another area Kingdom Hall until the one-story masonry building on the city's South Side is repaired.